Jake On Jake: Word Of Mouth

Jake: Released two new novels. One finishes up my Apex Trilogy which started with DEAD MECH. The other is my YA zombie novel that helped get me a literary agent.

Jake: Cool! And the names of these novels?

Jake: Metal and Ash and Little Dead Man.

Jake: And where could readers find these novels?

Jake: Okay, this is getting cheesy.

Jake: What is?

Jake: The whole interview myself to shill some books. Not why I wanted to start this series of posts.

Jake: Then why did you want to start this series of posts? Do tell!

Jake: Don’t say things like “Do tell!”. Please.

Jake: Ok… Uh…

Jake: I wanted to start this series of posts because this way I could express my opinions on subjects without having to be nailed down to one point of view or one answer. In this internet age everything you say is saved and analyzed and taken as THE WORD. If you change your mind you get lynched.

Jake: Do you change your mind often?

Jake: I’m talking to myself right now and have already contradicted myself a couple of times. I change my mind all the time. I’m a natural contrarian. I tend to see the flip side of every opinion. I don’t always agree with the flip side, but I can easily see the argument that side presents. Sometimes, especially as I grow and mature and gain more wisdom/experience, I see that my earlier opinions and thoughts were just plain immature. Or stupid. I do say a lot of stupid things.

Jake: You know the old adage: “Better to stay silent and play the fool than to open your mouth and prove it.”

Jake: Yeah, I know, I know. But I’m a talker. I have opinions. I like to explore theories and concepts by communicating. It’s part of my process. I don’t always believe everything that comes out of my own mouth, but I say it anyway to try it on and see how the thoughts feel out there in the world.

Jake: Interesting way to live.

Jake: To say the least.

Jake: Anything you want to talk about today? Maybe publishing wise?

Jake: Maybe. I have been thinking about the whole “free model” thing. You know I started by giving my writing away for free as a podcast, right?

Jake: I’m you, dumbass. I know that.

Jake: Don’t get snippy. I’m trying to build a narrative here.

Jake: You’re talking to yourself. All you’re doing is building a case against your sanity.

Jake: Are you done?

Jake: Probably not.

Jake: Who’s the good cop and who’s the bad cop in this interview anyway?

Jake: Does it matter?

Jake: Not really.

Jake: Then get on with it.

Jake: Soooooooo, I gave away my first novel as a free podcast. Why? Because at that time it was a great way to get exposure for my writing. It reached a large audience and built some serious buzz. Back then it was the only way for independent writers to put their work out there without a publisher. Some also blogged their writing or just gave away free PDFs, but I come from a theatre background and love to read and perform.

Jake: And this has all changed?

Jake: Yeah, it’s changed! There’s freakin’ ebooks now! I don’t have to spend 30 hours recording a podcast and another 30 hours editing and another 30 hours uploading and promoting. I can now spend 30 hours writing a novel, another 30 editing it, and then the last 30 promoting it. And make money! In theory, at least.

Jake: So you’re down on podcasting?

Jake: No, that’s the thing. I like podcasting. I just hate the time suck that it is. Putting out a weekly episode is a great way to promote my writing. But it takes so much time to get that episode together that I have to wonder if it is worth it.

Jake: Is it?

Jake: That’s the question.

Jake: So, are you going to quit podcasting?

Jake: Not yet, no. I will be releasing Metal and Ash as a free podcast in the next couple of weeks. Because of the length of the novel, even with a weekly release, it will take up most of 2013. So I don’t really have to revisit the podcasting thing until 2014.

Jake: Then you’ll quit?

Jake: I’m not saying that. Again, I like podcasting, just hate the time suck. If the time was profitable then I’d look at it differently.

Jake: Maybe Audible.com?

Jake: Not viable. I’d have to yank all free content from my feed. Audible doesn’t allow free duplicate podcasts to be out there.

Jake: Subscriptions? Charge for the podcast?

Jake: How the hell do I even do that? And I don’t want to have to worry about the podcast being perfect quality. If I were to charge money for it then I’d have to up my game. I don’t want to be a professional podcaster. I’m a writer. That’s where I want to make my money.

Jake: How about that donate button on your site?

Jake: Dear God, did we just go there?

Jake: Well, you put it up for a reason.

Jake: Yeah, true. If people want to donate they can. But I’m not going to push it. I’ll mention it in the upcoming podcast, but probably only in the first episode. I’d rather folks bought my novels.

Jake: Or helped spread the word?

Jake: Yes! Word of mouth! That is the best payment a reader can offer! Bestsellers don’t become bestsellers because they have a ton of marketing and promotion. When was the last time you bought a book because you saw the floor stand in Barnes & Noble? Or because Amazon sent you a suggestion email?

Jake: Never.

Jake: No, you buy books because you either like the author or have heard good things about the book FROM SOMEONE YOU TRUST!

Jake: I do like some book reviews. If I read a good review that may make me buy the book.

Jake: True. But that goes back to time. It takes a shit ton of time to promote a book and get it in the hands of reviewers. And guess what?

Jake: What?

Jake: Reviewers aren’t too keen on reviewing self-published novels.

Jake: They aren’t?

Jake: Nope.

Jake: Huh. Who’d a thunk it?

Jake: Really?

Jake: No, not really. There is a ton of awful crap out there. I don’t blame them for not wanting to sift through it all.

Jake: Which leaves word of mouth.

Jake: You’re on the Twitter and the Facebook, right?

Jake: I am, but that’s just the echo chamber. I’m talking to the same audience over and over. I can only say “buy my book” so many ways before I get tuned out.

Jake: You need the echo chamber to make their own echoes.

Jake: Exactly. Word of mouth.

Jake: Huh. How do you do that?

Jake: Not a clue. Guess that’s why I’m talking to myself.

Jake: Guess so. Good luck with that.

Jake: Thanks. You too.

Jake is a writer that has published four novels, has two out for submission with his agent, and is currently writing a new novel that will be released under a pen name. Which means he’ll have to figure out word of mouth for a whole other person that doesn’t actually exist. He’s excited about this. No, really, he is. Check out his novels, his podcast, his free weekly drabble release, or anything else by clicking on the links to the side. Oh, and spread the word if you’d like. He wouldn’t mind at all.